In electronics manufacturing, integrated circuit (“IC”) packaging is the step of semiconductor device fabrication, in which the IC is encased in a supporting case that prevents physical damage and exposure to the elements. The case (i.e., “package”) supports the electrical contacts that connect the device to a circuit board. There are a variety of different types of packages (e.g., through-hole, surface mount, pin grid array, lead-frame based, (e.g. TSSOP, QFP, QFN) chip-scale package (CSP), ball grid array (BGA), Multi Chip Package (MCM), etc.). Some package types have standardized dimensions and tolerances and are registered with trade industry associations such as JEDEC. Other types of packages may be tailored for specific IC chips.
For example, a BGA is a type of surface-mount package used for ICs. A BGA can provide more interconnection pins than other typical packages, such as dual in-line or lead-frame package. BGAs allow the entire bottom surface of the package to be used for interconnects instead of just the perimeter. Accordingly, BGAs provide many interconnections while maintaining a small form factor.
BGA's may be used for a product family (i.e., IC chips) that share a common chip core (e.g., circuit block). The product family may include different generations of IC chips and/or IC chips that have a common core but may include different and/or additional features and functionality. It will be understood that additional features and functions typically use additional pins. Traditionally, to maintain cost and for design compatibility, the pin-out on the package for the product family is maintained for the chip core while the package is increased in size symmetrically from the center to accommodate the additional pins (e.g., solder balls in BGA packages) for the additional circuitry/functionality. Such linear scaling may unnecessarily increase package dimensions, cost, and complexity.